Loom reed support



Nov. 29, 1949 1.. M. ROGERS ET AL 2,

LOOM REED SUPPORT Filed Feb. 18, 1947 Q g N 557/? 4V a w I 2a 00 E L1 5% m L-M' w Q if R 2 r: I I I 54 r D AGENT Patented Nov. 29, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOOM REED SUPPORT Leonard M. Rogers, Mendon,

and Florence Francis Donoghue, Worcester, Mass, assignors to Draper Corporation, Hopedale, Mass, a corporation of Maine Claims. 1

This invention relates to weaving looms of the type having a lay and a reed, and more particularly to means for supporting and adjusting the reed on the lay.

In looms of the type with which the present invention is concerned the lay carries at each of its ends a shuttle box between which extends a raceplate over which a shuttle is picked to and from the boxes. The raceplate is supported upon or formed as a part of a lay beam which generally is supported and rocked forwardly and rearwardly of the loom by action of two or more lay swords. To beat into the fell of the fabric the weft laid by the shuttle, and to aid in guiding the shuttle in its complex paths of movement between the two shuttle boxes there is provided rearwardly of the shuttle race a reed. The reed extends generally perpendicularly to the plane of the raceplate surface, and is supported along its lower edge in a groove in the lay beam, and along its upper edge in a groove in the lower face of a hand rail or bar supported by the lay swords and positioned generally above the lay beam. Since the shuttle tends to remain in contact with the reed as it traverses between the shuttle boxes, it is essential that the front face or plane of the reed be very closely aligned with respect to the front face of the back plate of each of the shuttle boxes; otherwise the shuttle is apt to be given an irregular or wobbling movement as it is picked out of a box, or be scraped by or improperly received in the opposite shuttle box.

. Heretofore alignment of the plane of the reed with respect to the front faces of the back plates of the shuttle boxes has been accomplished principally by adjusting the plates into alignment with the plane of the reed. This is a laborious and time-consuming procedure, and necessitates having means for adjusting most of the principal elements of the shuttle boxes. Some attempts have been made to provide means to adjust the reed into proper alignment with respect to the shuttle boxes, but the means heretofore produced suffer from the disadvantage of transmitting the forces from the reed to the beam or rail through screws, which screws fail under the repeated im pact loads transmitted; or the means required vertical movement of the reed, which is undesirable since the reed may then easily get out of adjustment.

With the above considerations in view it is an object of the present invention to provide means for positively supporting and adjusting the reed without involving the above mentioned disadvantageous features of prior art structures. It is another object of the invention to provide means for adjusting the lower reed rib in a direction substantially normal to the plane of the reed, without causing appreciable movement of the reed in the direction of said plane. It is another object of the invention to provide means comprising two members having relatively oppositely inclined reed rib supporting faces, the members being movable in relatively opposite directions parallel to the plane of the reed, whereby the reed may be adjustably positioned in a plane generally normal to the plane of the reed to bring the latter plane into alignment with respect to the front faces of the back plates of the shuttle boxes. It is another object of the invention to improve reed mounting and adjusting structures generally.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will become evident from a consideration of the following description and the accompanying drawings wherein are disclosed a preferred form of structure embodying the invention and modified forms of such structure. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of a portion of a loom lay with a section removed from the center, showing reed supporting and adjusting means according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken at line 22 in Fig. 1, with certain parts at the end of the lay removed;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to a portion of Fig. 2 but illustrating a modified form of reed supporting and adjusting structure according to the invention;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing a second modified form of reed supporting and adjusting structure according to the invention; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view in section illus trating details of structure shown in Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings wherein there is illustrated, in addition to structure according to the invention, only so much of conventional loom structure as Will aid in understanding the clescription of the invention, there is shown in Fig. 1 a portion of a lay including a lay beam Ii) mounted upon lay swords l2, 53 in conventional manner. Supported by and at the respective ends of beam II] are shuttle boxes It, l5 between which a shuttle is is picked by means including pickers I8, 19 on respective picker sticks 20, 2|. Included in the lay structure and mounted upon the lay beam and extending between the shuttle boxes is a shuttle race plate 22 over which the shuttle slides as it travels be- 3 tween th boxes. swords and secured thereto at its respective ends as by bolts 2%, 25 is a hand rail 2'6. Disposed below the hand rail is a reed 23 Whose upper rib 30 is fitted within a longitudinally extending groove 32 formed along the bottom of the hand rail. The reed includes, besides upper rib ill, a lower rib 3G and the usual series of reed splints or dents extending between the two ribs. With the exception of the particular type of lay beam I!) illustrated, the hereinabove enumerated structure may be as is usual in looms as com nercially used, and is well known in the art. The particular type of lay beam illustrated is fully described in co-pending application Serial No. 705,321 filed October 24, 1946, by Edward C. Nichols, and assigned to the same assignee as is the present application. Reference may be had to that disclosure for full details of said type of lay beam. For the purposes of the present invention it is sufficient that the lay beam be provided with a longitudinally extending, upwardly facing, parallel-sided recess disposed near the top rear of the beam, as in conventional wood lay beams. Referring to Figs. 2, 3 and a, such a recess is indicated at 34. Th above mentioned reed and lay structure is not per se a novel part of the present invention.

In attaining the objects of the invention novel means are provided on the lay beam for sup- :porting and adjusting the lower reed rib. Re-

.As is well known, due to the guiding effect of the reed upon the shuttle it is desirabl to be able to precisely adjust the front face or plane of the reed with respect to alignment with the front faces of the back box plates of the two shuttle boxes, that is, forwardly and rearwardly with respect to the lay beam and the race plate. According to the present invention such fore and aft adjustment is provided by causing the lower reed rib to be supported upon the respectively oppositely inclined faces of two relatively oppositely, vertically movable members whereby when the members are relatively oppositely moved in a vertical direction the rib moves down on one inclined face and up on the other inclined face and partakes of a resultant motion in a dilGC." tion substantially normal to the front face or plane of the reed.

Referring specifically to Fig. 2 the lay beam I I} has formed therein the mentioned generaily parallel-sided longitudinally extending groove or recess 44 in which are disposed two reed 'supporting members 45 and 38, each preferably in the form of a strip of suitable material such as wood, fiber, metal or plastic such as one of the well known phenolic resins. Member 35 has a downwardly and rearwardly inclined face ll and member 4-8 has a downwardly and forwardly inclined face to, upon which relatively oppositely inclined faces the lower reed rib 36 is supported. It will be evident that if one of members 46, 4,8 is moved vertically upward and the other is moved vertically downward, reed rib M will move downwardly on the inclined face of the former Disposed between the lay respective member.

and upwardly on the inclined face of the latter, and will at the same time be moved in a direction generally normal to the plane or front face of the reed. To enable relative vertical adjustment of members 45 and 28 there is provided under each of the members a series of adjustable screws engaged in tapped holes in the lay beam and bearing against the lower face of the In Fig. 2 one of the screws of each series is shown. Screw 59 is engaged in a tapped hole formed in the lay beam and bears against the lower face of member 45, and screw 52 is likewise engaged in a tapped. hole formed in the beam and bears against the lower face of member 48. In the event members 46 and are formed of easily deformed material such as wood, bearing strips 54 of steel or other hard material may optionally be placed under or attached to the individual members to obviate muiilation of the members by screws 50, 52. The number of screws 50, 52 in the respective series extending beneath the member 56 or 68 may be varied in accordance with the stiffness of the latter and the length of the lay. While only one screw of each series is shown it is to be understood that as many are employed as are desired or required under individual circumstances of construction. It is evident that if, say, the series of screws 52 are backed out and the'series of screws 58 are turned in, reed rib 34 will be forced to move downwardly on face 41 and rearwardly or to the left in Fig. 2, thus moving member 48 downwardly in the event it did not move down as screws "52 were backed out. Conversely, by backing out screws 56 and turning in screws-52, opposite movements of the respective elements will be effected with reed rib 34 moving forwardly or to the right in Fig. 2. While it is evident that other degrees of slope may be found to be useful, the slope or degree of inclination of faces ill and 39 is preferably substantially 45 as measured between the respective inclined face and th face of reed 28. It will be evident from the above description that through relatively opposite movement of members 46 and 48 the reed face may be very precisely adjusted with respect to alignment with the front faces of the back plates of the shuttle boxes. It further will be evident that the reed rib supporting members 36 and .48 have extensive face areas in contact with the walls of recess M in the lay beam and hence are adapted to easily bear and transmit to the beam the impact loads imposed upon the reed rib 34 during weaving operations. After adjustment of members 66, G8 has been checked the lower reed rib is forced tightly against those members and held from vertical motion through force applied to the upper reed rib by the hand rail which is mounted for vertical adjustment on the lay swords according to conventionalpi'actice in the art.

In Fig. 3 there is illustrated'a modified form of structure according to the invention wherein the lower reed rib 3d of reed 23 is arranged to rest upon and be positionally adjusted by the relatively oppositely inclined faces of two longitudinally extending shaped members 55 and 58 which are fitted, together with a backing strip 50, into the groove or recess 44 in the lay beam it. Members iii; and 58 have interengaging longitudinally serrated or toothed faces 62 and 66, respectively,

the teeth being of uniform pitch and arranged so any tooth of one member can be engaged between any pair of teeth on the other member. Backing strip 60 may be removed from recess 44 to allow space for separation and re-engagement of members 56 and 58 in any of a plurality of difierent relationships. After re-engagement of the two members in the desired adjustment, backing strip 68 is re-inserted in place thereby locking the two members in desired space relationship. In any of the several possible relative adjustments of members 56 and 58, one of the two members may seat firmly on the lay beam at the bottom of recess 44, and the reed rib 34 may be held tightly against the two members by force applied to the top reed rib by the hand rail. It will be evident that any relative adjustment of members 56, 58 in a vertical direction will result in a corresponding horizontal adjustment of lower reed rib 34, and that the direction of this horizontal adjustment may be selected at will by selecting the direction of the relative vertical movement of one member with respect to the other, as in the case of the form of structure shown in Fig. 2.

A second modified form of structure according to the invention is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. In that form of the structure two longitudinally ex-- tending members 66 and 68 are provided having oppositely inclined reed rib supporting and engaging faces similar to the inclined faces on the previously described reed supporting members and acting similarly on reed rib 34. Members 68 and 68 are arranged to have imparted to them relatively opposite movement parallel to the plane of the reed through action of a shaped strip I6 which has oppositely inclined bevel faces 12, I4 arranged to coact with beveled lower faces 16, 18,

respectively, provided on members 66 and 68.

Member 18 when moved forwardly or rearwardly (to the right or left as viewed in Figs. 4 and 5) will cause upward motion of one of members 66 and 68 and will allow opposite movement of the other of those members, as is evident from an examination of the mentioned figures of the drawings. Relative vertical movement of members 66 and 68 results in horizontal displacement of the lower reed rib, as in the case of members 46 and 48 (Fig. 2). Hence fore and aft adjustment of the reed rib may be effected by rearward and forward adjustment, respectively, of member 10. To effect such adjustment of member 16 means in the form of screws and associated structure is provided. Referring to Fig. 5, a headed screw 80 isentered through a hole 82 in the lay beam and is turned into a tapped hole 84 formed in member 16. The head of screw 86 is made of greater diameter than hole 82, which in turn is large enough to freely pass the shank of screw 86. A bearing plate 86 having a driver entrance hole 88 of smaller diameter than the head of screw 86 is secured to the beam II] by suitable means as by screws 90, 9|. Plate 86 preferably is formed to extend along the rear of the lay beam and is provided with a shallow depression along its front side to accommodate the head of screw 88. It should be understood that plate 86 may be approximately as long as members 66, 68 and 10, and that along its length a series of holes 88 will be provided to give access to a series of screws 80 each fitted through a respective hole 82 of a series of such holes in the lay beam, each such screw being engaged in a respective tapped hole 84 in member 10. A driver may be entered through a hole 88 engaged with a screw 86 which 'may thereby be turned to move a portion of member 10 forwardly or rearwardly. When drawing member 16, the head of screw 86 will bear against beam l8, and when pushing the member it will bear against plate 86. Simultaneous actuation of all of the series of screws is not necessary: successive adjustment suffices for all practical purposes. From the above it is evident that adjustment of rib 34 may be effected through adjustment of the series of screws 80.

In each of the hereinabove described forms of structure according to the invention the members 46, 48, 56, 58 and 66, 68 preferably but not necessarily are in the form of long shaped strips of approximately the same length as the reed they support. The same is true of plate 86. However, it is evident that a series of shorter shaped strips could be employed in a similar manner in place of a single long strip. In each form of the structure the reed supporting strips have respectively, oppositely inclined, reed rib engaging faces and are arranged for opposite relative movement parallel to the reed face to impart fore and aft movement of the engaged reed rib, and hence of the reed, in a direction generally normal to the reed face.

In the specification and claims the phrase means for securing the other of said reed ribs to the lay is used and obviously, the term "lay is there employed to designate the entire lay structure including the hand rail. Moreover, the screws which bear against the strips 54, Fig. 2, may directly contact the parts 46 and 48. To cover each of these possibilities, the term an underlying supporting surface has been employed in the claims.

Having disclosed a preferred form of the invention it is evident that modifications thereof will occur to those skilled in the art. We do not wish to be limited to the specific details of the constructions shown, and what we claim and wish to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A loom having a lay and a reed having a face and upper and lower reed ribs, and in combination therewith, a plurality of movable reed rib supporting members on the lay having respectively oppositely and downwardly inclined faces for engaging one of said reed ribs and means for effecting mutually opposite, relative movement of said supporting members in a direction generally parallel to said reed face, thereby to impart a relative movement to said one reed rib transversely thereto and selective forwardly or backwardly of the lay, and means for securing the other of said reed ribs to the lay.

2. A loom having a lay with a longitudinally extending recess therein and a ribbed reed hav-- ing a generally planar front face disposed along the lay, and in combination therewith, a plurality of opposed, movable reed rib engaging and supporting members in said recess, said members having respectively oppositely inclined, reed rib engaging surfaces and means for effecting mutually opposite relative movement of said supporting members in a direction generally parallel to said reed face thereby to adjust said reed rib in a direction generally normal to said face, and means holding the other rib of said reed in a relatively fixed position.

3. A loom having a lay with a longitudinally extending recess therein and a ribbed reed having a generally planar front face disposed along the lay, and in combination therewith, a plurality of movable reed rib engaging and supporting members in said recess, said members having respectively oppositely inclined, reed rib engaging surfaces and being guided for relative movement in a direction substantially parallel to said face to adjust said reed rib in a direction generally normal to said face, means effective upon each sup eassess :nortingsmemberi for moving it selectively in said LfiI'St mentioneddirection, and means securing the -other rib of said reed in .a relatively fixed position with respect to thelay.

4. A loom having a lay including a longitudi- ;;nally recessed beam, a longitudinally recessed rhand-rail, a weft carrier raceway, and a generally upright ribbed reed extending along thelay between the beam and hand rail rearwardly. of :said raceway, and in combination therewith: a pair of reed-rib engaging and supporting members disposed in the recess in said lay beam, said ,members being constructed and guided for relatively opposite, parallel, generally vertical move- .ments therein and provided with respectively op- ;positely downwardly inclined, reed-rib engaging faces; means extending within said recess for engaging said pair of members and adjustable to provide said vertical movements of said pair of ,members, whereby said reed rib and reed may be adjustably positioned forwardly and rearwardly ,with respect to said raceway; and saidupper rib -0f said reed being seated in the recess in said :hand rail.

5. In a loom, a lay including a longitudinally vbers adjustably positioning and supporting the lower reed rib in the recess in the lay beam, said members having respective faces downwardly inplined in opposite directions relative to the face of the reed and having said faces arranged in .supporting relation to said lower reed rib, said members further having vertically arranged, interengaging series of longitudinally extending teeth whereby a tooth of one member may be solectively interengaged with any pair of several pairs of teeth of the other member to selectively and .fixedly position said one member in any or" several vertically spaced positions relative to the ,said other member to selectively adjust said lower .reed rib to any one of several positions at different distances from said raceway.

.6. A loom having a lay, and a reed having-a face .and upper and lower ribs, and in combination therewith: a plurality of members on the lay [extending lengthwise .of the reed and having -re- 'spective faces oppositely and downwardly in- .clined relative to the reed face, said members presenting said inclined faces in engagement .with one of said reed ribs, and means forming a 'part of said lay for confining the other of said ribs in a relatively fixed position, a recess in said lay for confining said members'to -respeotively opposite movements generally parallel to said reed face, and selectively adjustable .means on said lay for imparting said movements to said members whereby said one reed rib maybe selectively adjusted to positions in a plane generally transverse to said reed face.

'7. In a loom having a lay and a reed having a face and upper and lower reed ribs, in combination therewith: means securing one of said -ribs to the lay, a plurality of members on the lay extending lengthwise of the reed and having respective faces oppositely and downwardly-inclined relative to the reed face, said members presenting said. inclined faces in engagement with the other of said reed ribs and each having a second face substantially parallel with said reed face and provided with a series of longitudinally extending teeth, said members being constructed and arranged for mutual interengagementpf "their toothed faces with a given tooth of one "member interengaged with any one pair of several-pairsof teeth of the other member, whereby said members may be relatively adjusted in 0pposite directions generally parallel with said reed \face to adjustably position the axis of said other ei said reed ribs to any one of several positions in-a plane through said last mentioned rib and generally transverse to said reed face. 10

8; In .a loom, a lay beam having a longitudinally extending recess therein, a shuttle box for and-at each end of the lay beam, a raceway on the lay beam and extending between the shuttle boxes,

a hand rail disposed above the lay beam and :ribs the upper of which engages said hand rail, eacpair of reed supporting members disposed in said recess, one forwardly of and one rearwardly of said :reed, and each provided with respectively .ioppositely, downwardly inclined, reedrib engag- --ingjsurfaces, and selectively adjustable means :causing apposite, generally vertical, relative movement of said members whereby upon upward :rnovement of the rearwardmost member said lower reed rib will be moved forwardly toward :said raceway and upon upward movement of the v other-of said-members said lower reed rib will be sition comprising two opposed, movable rib engaging and supporting members, each member having its rib engaging surface inclined downwardly and toward the center of the recess, and means for effecting a movement of one supporting ,i member relatively to the other along the direction of the reed dents thereby to vary the line 201" intersection of one of the inclined surfaces with .the other and accordingly to shift the adjacent rib transversely of the recess in the lay, and means for retaining the other reed rib in gilxedposition.

10. In a loom having a lay beam and a reed comprising upper and lower ribs and dents be.- tw'eensaid ribs presenting a face along which a shuttle may be guided, a longitudinally extending recess in the lay beam and means therein ,for adjustably retaining the reed rib in operative position comprising two opposed, movable rib engaging and supporting members, each member having its rib engaging surf ace inclined downwarclly and toward the center of the recess, and means for effecting movements of either supporting member along the direction of the reed dents thereby to vary the line of intersection of one of the inclined surfaces with the other and aocordinglyto shift the adjacent rib transversely of the recess in the lay which comprises threaded adjusting means passing through a portion of the lay beam and into contact with an underlying supporting surface of the said supporting members, and means for retaining the other reed rib inl fixed position. LEONARD M. ROGERS.

F. FRANCIS DONOGHUE.

(References on following page) REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Cheney June 20, 1893 Number Number Number 

